Dominion projects higher bills in updated power plan
Dominion Energy’s updated Virginia electricity plan projects substantial growth in power demand and higher potential household bills, with changing data center consumption identified as a major driver. The plan is not a request for specific power plant approvals or rate increases, but environmental advocates criticized its reliance on additional natural gas generation.
Dominion Energy filed an update to its 2026 Integrated Resource Plan with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, outlining how it could meet electricity demand through 2046. The filing projects significant increases in future residential bills under two different calculation methods, though Dominion emphasized that the figures are not proposed rate increases or predictions of actual customer bills.
The plan identifies revised projections for data center electricity use as a key factor behind rising regional demand. Dominion’s preferred scenario includes nearly 9,000 megawatts of new natural gas generation, along with substantial solar, wind, storage and nuclear capacity, while an alternative scenario limiting data center growth to facilities with completed electric service agreements would require considerably less new gas generation. The Southern Environmental Law Center criticized the preferred plan for increasing emissions and exposing customers to fossil fuel costs.